Bathing suit



June 28, 1932.

N. L. MARTZ 1,865,029

BATHING SUIT Filed Sept 24. 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I NVENTOR NICHOLAS L.MAF\TZ T/9,4 $41.! MM

T-ronwzys June 28, 1932. N MARTZ 1,865,029

BATHING SUIT Filed Sep t. 24, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR NICHOLAS L..MARTZ .7% MMM ATTORN 5Y5 Patented June 28, 1932 UNITED A ES P TENT QFF C'E NICHOLAS L. MARTZ, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, ASSIG'NOR TO THE MUNSI'NG WEAR CORPORATION, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNE SO'IA, A CORPORATION OFF MINNE- SOTA.

BA'IHING- SUIT This invention concerns itself with bathing suits, particularly with bathing suits for women.

At the present time it is considered desirable from standpoints of both health and appearance to have a coat of tan. Whilethere are in existence some solariums and the like wherein subjects may in privacy expose any portions of their bodies to the sunor to the action of ultra-violet rays emanating from an artificial source, the great mass of the people acquire their coats oftanonportions of the body other than the face and lower arms while attired in bathing suitsat public or semi-public beaches and swimming pools.

It is desirable to acquireauniform coating of tan over as much ofthe arms, chest, shoulders and back as is possible. The greater the area covered, the more-beneficial a result is obtained from a health standpoint. So also, the coating over these portions must be uniform if the'wearers appearance is not to be detracted from, particularlywhenlater wearing a dress or gown whose lines do; not coincide with those of thebathing suit worn at the beach.

In orderto enable the wearer to obtain under such conditions a maximum amount of exposure commensurate with present day notions of the dictates of modesty, bathing suits have heretofore been made with close fitting bodice portions having low necks and backs, and narrow shoulder straps or bands passing over the wearers shoulders. This construction enables the use of a very low back which is particularly desirable in view of the fact that modern sport dressesand evening gowns are often out very low at the back, and the subject may therefore wear such an outer garmentafter exposure without the danger that any white portions of the skin will show above the bottom of the cut at the back, it bein' of course understood that it is regarded hig ly undesirable and unattractive to expose beneath an outer garment, portions of the skin which are tan and portions which are not. There is invariably an unsightly line of demarcation betweensuch portions. ''However, the presence of the shoulder straps-in the bathing suit results in the formation of a white stripe of untanned skin passing over each of the wearers shoulders. Such stripe will become exposed each time there isa slip of the shoulder strap of a gown subsequently worn and since sport dresses, eveninggowns and the like ordinarily fit relatively loosely, such slippage is not infrequent. It is obviously desirable to provide a construction in which the formation .of these white stripes over the shoulders during the sun bathing, may be eliminated.

In an effort to avoid the formation of these white shoulder stripes, some wearers .of bathing suits of the character referred to above have simply slipped the shoulder straps.

down over. the arms while sunbathing. This results in an untidy appearance, however, and moreover deprives the bodice portion of the bathing suit of support. The wearer must hold up the bodice at its upperedge in best manner possible without any great feeling of security and with the public eye full upon her.

Later, some bathing suits ofthis general type were provided vwithtensionmg means for holding the bodice up even when the shoulder straps are removed. In one type elastic tensioning means were employedand it hasalso been proposed to use draw. strings. But in either case the shoulder straps are adapted to dangle uselessly over the wearers arms thereby partially covering them and detracting from the desiredtrim and neat appearance, while the tensioning means alone are being used for support.

In another type of known bathing suit which is formed with a close fitting bodice having a frontportion provided with integral tabs and a low cutback portion, there are provided a pairof shoulder straps each of which is detachable at both ends. Thedetachable securing means comprise buttons and buttonholes, there being two spaced buttons sewed at the upper edge of. the back of the garment and a button sewedon each of the tabs at the front. 'Each of the straps has abuttonhole at either end and further has one or more buttonholes intermediate those at the ends. The garment may be worn in a variety of ways. It may be'worn with each strap loo passing straight over the shoulders from front to back or the straps may be crossed at the back but in either case the objectionable white stripes are formed over the shoulders. Again, when on the beach the wearer may dis card one strap and use the other to tension the bodice by means of the two buttons at the back, or if desired loop the other about the neck, fastening its ends to the two front buttons. In either of these latter cases, however, the wearer must care for a temporarily discarded strap, an onerous burden when frolicking about the beach.

It is a general purpose of the present invention to provide a bathing suit of simplified construction, the manner of wearing of which is capable of being readily altered so that the formation of the unsightly white stripes on the shoulders may be eliminated.

It is a further purpose to provide a construction wherein such alteration can be effected and maintained without causing any feeling of insecurity on the part of the wearer and in a manner to positively support the bust covering portion of the suit, but without the necessity of temporarily discarding any portion thereof.

The various objects of' the invention will become more readily apparent upon a detailed reading of the accompanying drawings and specification, together with the appended claims.

In the drawings, which are illustrative of the invention, Fig. 1 is a front view of a bathing suit, made in accordance with this invention worn by a wearer in one manner;

Fig. 2 is a rear View of the suit worn in the 53.1116 manner Fig. 3 is a detached rear view of the suit when arranged to be worn as shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

Figs. 4 and 5 are front and rear views, respectively, of the suit being worn in alternative manner;

Fig. 6 is a detached front view of the suit arranged to be worn as shown in Figs. 4 and 5' and Fig. 7 is a fragmentary View showing an enlargement of a detail.

Referring to the drawings, numeral 2 designates generally a bathing suit which may be of any desired general type or fashion, but is here shown as comprising a close fitting knitted trunk portion 4 along whose upper edge is sewed the lower edge of a close fitting bodice portion 6, also knitted, as indicated by the line of stitching 8. The bodice and trunk portions together form one piece. The rear of the bodice portion is cutaway to form a low back and the front of the bodice portion is provided with integrally formed tabs 10 and 12 at either side. Adjacent the upper rear edge of the trunk portion, at the middle of the back, there is sewed a loop tab 14. A strap or band 16 is sewed at one end to the end of tab 10 as indicated by stitching 18 and is provided at its opposite end with a set of buttonholes 20. Intermediate its two ends it is provided with a second set of buttonholes 22. The button 24 which is sewed to the end of tab 12, is adapted to be inserted in one of the buttonholes 20 or 22 depending upon the manner in which the bathing suit is to be worn. When the bathing suit is to be worn as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3, strap 16 is passed over the right shoulder, down the back and through the loop tab 14, up the back and over the left shoulder to the tab 12 where its end is fastened by means of one of the buttonholes 20 and the button 24. The distance along strap 16 from its end stitched at 18 to the set of buttonholes 20 is such as to provide just the proper amount of tension when worn across the shoulders as above described. Any number of buttonholes may be provided in the set 20 to provide for adjustment.

When strap 16 is secured in this manner, the suit may be worn in the water and will not tend to slip or pull off even during energetic movements on the part of the wearer. The strap 16 distributes the pull and tension from both the back and the front of the suit over the shoulders, as the ordinary shoulder straps do. The front and the rear of the garment are both held from sagging.

Upon leaving the water to lie upon the beach or raft, the wearer can alter the strap 16 and wear the garment as illustrated in Figs. 4 to 6. When so worn the strap 16 is disengaged from loop tab 14 and looped directly about the back of the wearers neck, being secured to tab 12 by means of button 24 and one of the buttonholes 22. This set of buttonholes is spaced from tab 10 an amount suflicient to provide the requisite tension for supporting the front, bust covering portion of the bodice when the strap 16 is looped directly about the neck as indicated above. To enable adjustment, any convenient number of buttonholes are provided in set 22. The free end of strap 16 may be tucked inside the bathing suit as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 4or may be allowed to remain on the outside as indicated by the dot and dash lines. i

The loop tab 14 is preferably formed of knitted material similar to the material of the bathing suit proper but it is of course understood that it could comprise a ring or hook of rigid or semi-rigid material. Any detachable securing means such as a button and buttonhole may be used. I

Upon a comparison of Figs. 2 and 5 it will be observed that when the suit is worn as shown in Fig. 2, the back of the wearers neck is fully exposed but the back and shoulders are partially covered by strap 16. When the suit is worn as illustrated in Fig. 5,

the shoulders and back are fully exposed.

By judiciously changing strap 16 from one position to the other, the wearer can acquire a coat of tan over the back and shoulders without any unsightly stripes which might later show under a sport dress or evening gown. In the case of a bather who spends the average amount of time in the water as compared to the time spent on the beach, the uniform coating of tan will be acquired by wearing the bathing suit as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 while bathing in the water, and wearing the suit as shown in Figs. 4 to 6 while sunning on the beach. In either case the garment is positively supported so that the wearers comfort is assured. Moreover, the bathing suit gives the wearer a neat and trim appearance when worn in either manner.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a bathing suit, a strap adapted to be selectively passed over the wearers shoulders or around the wearers neck to support said bathing suit, means for securing the strap adjacent its first end to the front of the bathing suit at its first side and at a point above the bust line, means for detachably securing said strap adjacent its second end to the front of the bathing suit at its second side and at a point above the bust line, means for detachably securing said strap to the back of the bathing suit thereby to hold the former in tension when it is to be passed over the wearers shoulders, and means associated with said strap at a point intermediate the ends thereof for detachably securing said strap at such point to the front of the bathing suit at said second side to hold the strap in tension when passed around the wearers neck to support the bathing suit.

2. In a bathing suit, a loop tab secured to the middle of the back thereof adjacent its upper edge, a strap secured adjacent one end to the front of the bathing suit at one side thereof and at a point above the bust line, means for detachably securing the strap adjacent its other end to the front of the bathing suit at the other side thereof and at a point above the bust line, and means for detachably securing said strap at a point intermediate its ends to said other side of the front of the bathing suit at a point above the bust line, said other end of said strap being adapted to be selectively passed through said loop tab and secured to said other side of the front of the bathing suit thereby to form shoulder straps for supporting the same, or to be passed directly around the wearers neck whereby the strap may be secured to said other side of the front of said bathing suit at the aforesaid intermediate point thereby to support the same.

8. In a bathing suit, a loop tab secured to the middle of the back thereof adjacent its upper edge, a strap secured at one end to the front of the bathing suit at one side thereof and having a first buttonhole adjacent its other end and a second buttonhole intermediate said secured end and said first buttonhole, and a button secured to the front of the bathing suit at the other side thereof, the end of said strap having said first buttonhole being adapted to be passed over the shoulder of the wearer adjacent the secured end, through said tab loop, and over the shoulder of the wearer adjacent said button to be secured to said button, whereby said strap may form shoulder straps supporting said bathing suit, said strap also being adapted to be looped directly around the wearers neck and fastened to said button by means of said second buttonhole.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 21 da of September, 1931. NICf-IOLAS L. MARTZ. 

